Get Set, Don't Go
by theonewhowrotetatertots
Summary: Gibbs is about to cross a new bridge in his life. Bad summary i know, but it's really a good story....rated T just to be safe


Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, or anything that is original. I don't own the lyrics to this song, they belong to Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus and Disney. I own what is original...

Summary: Gibbs once lost a daughter to a horrific accident. Now he stands to lose another one as she stands at a crossroads in life.

Author's Note: I don't watch "Hannah Montana" I have heard this song on country radio and every time I hear this song it makes me cry... I heard it today and a plot bunny jumped into my head and wouldn't leave...I borrowed the title for my story from the song title.

***Ready, Set, Don't Go***

_*She's at the startin' line of the rest of her life  
As ready as she's ever been  
Got the hunger and the stars in her eyes  
The prize is hers to win  
She's waitin' on my blessings before she hits that  
open road  
Baby get ready  
Get set  
Don't go*_

He watched with silent wonder, as his daughter turned back to smile at him from the doorway. He marveled at how utterly beautiful she looked, standing there in her floor length white beaded gown with her red-gold hair done up in a neat, yet elegant bun, the two expertly curled tendrils framed her pretty face. Her blue eyes were framed by long lashes that seemed to make her eyes look that much more beautiful. He noted with fatherly pride that she didn't cover up the ever present parade of freckles that danced in kissy splashes across her nose. To him, the pretty young woman standing in front of him wasn't his daughter. To him, whenever you mentioned his girl, he thought of the pudgy baby girl that he didn't have time to get to know. His daughter was the baby that was raised by her maternal grandparents. His daughter was the one that he wasn't allowed to see. In all intents and purposes, _his_ daughter had been the one that died with _their_ daughter, and they couldn't bring themselves to let go of their grief to realize just how much _this_ daughter meant to him, and how much he needed her.

"Are you ready dad?" she asked as she came up to him. "I can't go down that aisle without you."

She had always been determined to find him. Even at a young age, she was hell bent on locating exactly where he was. She had come close a few times, only to be shut down by her grandfather. At seventeen, after her grandfather had passed away, her grandmother told her the information she was needing to hear. All she gave out was a name, but that was enough to go on. A long year later, she finally got a response. She opened the door one sunny October morning to find a familiar looking man standing on her Grandmother's front porch. He smiled and so did she.

"You look beautiful." was all he said as he took her arm in his. Together they walked to the back of the church, anxiously awaiting their turn down the aisle.

To him she always was beautiful. He'd recieve pictures every so often, his favorite of hers was one he kept in a special place, right next to her sister's picture. It was when she was six and she was proudly showing off the tree she had just learned to climb. She had streaks of dirt on her cheek and her ponytails were lopsided, her blue eyes twinkled with a spark of life. Her freckled face looked alight with childhood pleasure as she showed off the bright pink cast on her wrist, and the gap where her two front teeth used to be. He chuckled when he saw the picture, not because he thought it was funny that she had been hurt, but because she reminded him so much of her mother. God he wished that her mother was here to see this, and he wished his other daughter was standing next to her sister as maid of honor. Of all the mistakes he made in his life, he knew that his wife, and daughters meant more to him then all the world. He had made a promise to Shannon when Kelly was born that he would love and protect his children no matter what, and even though he wasn't there for his youngest daughter as she grew up, he still loved her with all his heart. That's why, as of right now, the stoic Jethro Gibbs was beginning to come apart at the seams. He looked over at his beautiful girl and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I wish mom and Kelly were here." she whispered to him, her eyes getting a little misty.

"They are." was his reply. He thought for a moment and said, "Don't be nervous."

"Says the man who's been married and divorced three times." she laughed a little at his joke. Laughing seemed to calm her nerves, and his as well. But nothing could calm the rising saddness he felt inside as the music began to play. The congregation stood at the opening notes of "The Wedding March." Their faces wreathed in smiles as they pointed cameras of all kinds at them.

"This is it dad." she said softly, her voice cracking as she spoke.

The walk to the altar was not long enough in his opinion. He resisted the urge to turn around and take his daughter home and lock her away in the basement with the boat forever. He knew that the young man that was going to take his daughter as his bride was an upstanding man, an upstanding man that he genuinely liked.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" the preacher asked as they arrived at the altar.

"I do." he said. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her hair.

"I love you daddy." she said tearfully. "And don't worry, you're not losing me. I'm still here."

He didn't reply. Silently he sat next to Jen in the front row. She took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

The ceremony flew by, and soon it was time for the reception.

"Dad?" she queried later in the evening as she walked out onto the veranda, "Aren't you going to come in?"

"No. Not yet." he stated.

"It's almost time for the "Father/Daughter dance."

"Annie, they want us to dance again." his new son-in-law called from the open doorway.

"I'll be right there Jack." She turned to go. "Are you coming?"

"I'll be right here. Go, dance with your husband. You don't want your old dad around anyway."

"No, I don't _want_ you to be here, I _need_ you to be here."

"Annie."

He looked at her, his eyes telling her to go and be with her husband. Smiling, she walked to her husband's side.

"I'm right here, I will never leave you." he whispered.


End file.
